Honourable Deputy Hans-Olaf Henkel
thank you for your email. Please be aware that i just commented your words as published by Science Business. Of course if Science Business has manipulated your own opinion then they are the ones to be blamed.

This is a complete misrepresentation of my statement. These billions of first ECUs and later Euros were spent exactly FOR those „industry champions“ I am wrongfully accused by you to be obsessed of. Rarely have I been confronted with such a blatant manipulation of my opinion.
Von meinem iPhone gesendet

Important essay in the link above by Zeynep Pamuk at Oxford University. She makes an excellent case on the public funding of science still its worth mentioning that the German and retiring MEP Hans-Olaf Henkel just said that European public science spends billions on research with “no result”. https://sciencebusiness.net/framework-p ... -no-result

Of course let´s not forget that what he means is that no European champions (cash cows) like Google are being generated as a result of those billions. Probably the fact that he spent more than 30 years in the industry explains why he´s so much obsessed with industry champions. He has a hammer-like vision no wonder then that all he can see is just nails. He forgets that if Europe was able to cut tax evasion by half that would mean annual revenue of around 500 billion which is more than the annual total net income of 15 Google champions. Furthermore, it was exactly that self-devouring obsession​ for champions, unlimited growth​ ​, and comfort ​that has brought Humanity on the verge of its own destruction. We need fewer champions, less growth and above all less comfort.